Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom parents guide

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Parent Guide

Protector or prey?

Overall B-

When an imminent volcanic eruption threatens to wipe out all life on the island that once housed the Jurassic World Theme Park, Owen and Claire (Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard) return on a mission to rescue the creatures that are still living there.

Release date June 22, 2018

Violence C
Sexual Content A
Profanity B
Substance Use B

Why is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.

Run Time: 128 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

“I’m talking about man-made cataclysmic change,” warns Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) as he testifies before Congress about the implications of cloned dinosaurs. “You don’t know what it looks like ‘til you’re standing at the gates.”

If you ever wondered how playing God with the genome of extinct dinosaurs could lead to cataclysmic change, you clearly haven’t watched the first four movies in the Jurassic Park series. But that’s okay – Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom graphically illustrates the deadly consequences.

As the movie opens, Jurassic Park is in ruins and cloned dinosaurs roam freely on Isla Nublar and in the surrounding ocean. This pastoral paleontological paradise is now under threat because Mount Sibo, the heretofore dormant volcano, is on the verge of a major eruption which would produce an “extinction event” for all life on the island. Instead of seeing this as a “do over” for the mistake of re-introducing prehistoric animals to the modern ecosystem, dinosaur activists, led by Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) are pressuring Congress to fund protective measures for the endangered animals. “An entire generation has grown up in a world where dinosaurs are living, breathing,” begins Claire’s earnest pitch, “But now they’re going to have to watch them go extinct. Or not.”

Claire’s determination to save the dinosaurs is matched by Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), who was responsible for cloning the animals and establishing Jurassic Park. Lockwood has found a new refuge for the endangered reptiles but needs help to round them up quickly. His assistant, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall) asks Claire to persuade her old partner Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to return to Isla Nublar with her, restart the computer tracking system on the island, and help them rescue as many creatures as possible.

Once Claire, Owen, veterinarian Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), and tech wizard Franklin Webb (Justice Webb) reach their destination, the action starts and never lets up. The volcano erupts, dinosaurs and people are shot with tranquilizer guns, humans try to outrun rampaging dinosaurs, and everyone tries to outrun the lava exploding out of the volcano. The action slows down slightly on board ship but picks up again once they arrive at their surprise relocation site. Claire, Owen, Zia and Franklin uncover treachery, greed and (spoiler alert) a plot to genetically engineer “weaponized dinosaurs” – creatures of surpassing strength and power who respond to human commands. The geneticist enabling this conspiracy has even produced a prototype dinosaur named the Indoraptor, which is designed to hunt, track and destroy. It should come as no surprise when this dinosaur, which looks like the Jurassic version of a meth head, escapes its cage and proceeds to hunt, track and destroy.

Parents considering Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for family viewing should take the PG-13 rating very seriously. The relentless violence and deadly peril faced by the characters make this movie unsuitable for small children. Adults may find themselves irked by paint-by-number action sequences, lazy writing, and plot holes big enough to push a T-rex through. However, teenagers looking for frenetic action, chase scenes, lots of excitement, and entertainment that brings back memories of imaginary adventures with toy dinosaurs, will likely enjoy escaping into this thrill ride in a neo-Jurassic world.

Directed by J.A. Bayona. Starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum. Running time: 128 minutes. Theatrical release June 22, 2018. Updated

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Rating & Content Info

Why is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom rated PG-13? Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril.

Violence: Two men in a submersible are swallowed whole by a marine dinosaur which later gulps down a man trying to climb a ladder into a helicopter. A dinosaur and a main character are shot with a tranquilizer gun. A dinosaur attempts to chase main characters up a ladder, snapping at their heels. A tyrannosaurus rex and a triceratops fight. A hunter rips out of dinosaurs’ teeth as a keepsake. A main character grabs another character and slams him against cell bars. A dinosaur rampages through a crowd, tossing people in the air. A dinosaur rips the arm off a hunter and then eats him, although his demise is not visible. Several mercenaries are attacked, eaten or crushed by dinosaurs. A main character jumps another character and stabs him with a needle filled with sedatives. A main character is injured when her leg is punctured by a dinosaur’s claw. A child is chased through her home by a dinosaur. A dinosaur opens a child’s bedroom window, walks towards the bed where the child is cowering and extends a claw towards the blanket. A therapod and indoraptor fight in multiple locations. An indoraptor falls and is impaled on a dinosaur fossil. A mercenary is lifted off the ground and then dropped by a pterodactyl. A main character is eaten by a dinosaur.

Sexual Content: A man and woman kiss each other.

Profanity: There are infrequent terms of deity and mild expletives.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Main characters drink beer in a bar.

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Parents' Guide

Claire Dearing is determined to protect dinosaurs, even though they are dangerous to both humans and almost every other animal. How would you feel if you were living in her world? Would you want to protect the dinosaurs or would you let them be killed by the volcano? Do we have an obligation to protect all endangered animals on earth? Do you think there are exceptions? Why or why not?
http://endangered-animals.ca/en/why-protect
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150715-why-save-an-endangered-species
http://nationalpost.com/news/too-cute-to-die-experts-say-were-too-selective-about-species-we-choose-to-protect

The dinosaurs were re-created when Hammond and Lockwood cloned them. Do you think that was a scientific breakthrough or an act of arrogant hubris? Should humans “play God” and re-introduce once extinct creatures? What if those animals could cure human diseases or fulfill other useful functions? Do you think cloning is ever ethical? Animals have been successfully cloned and it might be possible to clone humans in the future. Do you think it is okay to clone animals? What about humans?
https://www.genome.gov/25020028/cloning-fact-sheet/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/25/afraid-cloning-humans-macaque-monkeys-reality
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-ethical-consideration/

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cloned-sheep-raises-ethical-issues/

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom movie is September 18, 2018. Here are some details…

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is available for digital purchase on September 4, 2018 and releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) on September 18, 2018.

Related home video titles:

Dinosaur tells the story of a creature named Aladar who faces a world devastated by the ecological disaster that results when a giant meteor hits the earth. In The Good Dinosaur, dino Arlo meets up with Neanderthal boy, Spot, and the two work together to help Arlo find his parents. In Star Trek: Nemesis, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is horrified to discover that he is facing... himself. The Enterprise is in danger from a clone made without Picard’s knowledge.

The Jurassic Park Franchise includes:
- Jurassic Park
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Jurassic Park III
- Jurassic World

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